SFI director Eplett gave warning of 'terminal damage'
A former SFI finance director has gone on the record, saying he alerted fellow executives to the financial black hole that has since rocked the business.
SFI is refusing to comment on allegations made by former director Clive Eplett that he and fellow accountant James Kowszun warned two years ago that the company faced "terminal damage" if it failed to address operational flaws.
Last December thePublican.com reported that Tony Hill and Andrew Latham were told they risked financial crisis unless they halted SFI's rapid expansion. But Mr Eplett's decision to go public raises the stakes. The former financial director and joint MD, insists he and Mr Kowszun warned that company needed to cut back on openings, initiate a disposal programme and a take strategic view of the business, rather than make decisions "based solely on delivering next week's sales."
The allegations come as the operator of the Bar Med, Litten Tree, and Slug & Lettuce chains waits to hear what action the Financial Services Authority plans to take over statements made to the City by chairman Tony Hill and chief executive Andrew Latham last year.
It is suggested that the two directors, who like Mr Eplett and Mr Kowszun have now left SFI, may have deliberately mislead shareholders, despite knowing the scale of the difficulties facing the business.
SFI now has debts of more than £150m and is trading solely with the support of its banks.
The banks have released funds for urgent refurbishments in a bid to shore up sales in order to protect the value of the assets.
SFI suspended trading in its shares last November, and shareholders face seeing their holdings wiped out.
Related articles:
SFI bosses warned of cash flow crisis over a year ago (2 December 2002)
